The Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg) is a part of our Left Bank walk. It’s a massive 22+ hectare leafy public space in the 6th arrondisement. Marie de Medici opened the gardens along with the construction of the Palais du Luxembourg, which now houses the French Senate. (As an aside, we visited Florence after and learned more about the Medicis– very interesting stuff for me.)

There are plenty of works of art to gaze at– fountains, statues, and of course, people.

It’s a great place to people watch, in the warmer months sunbathers flock here, families go on picnics, kids have fun at the carousel, sandbox, marionette shows, or play with the little sailboats at the fountain. It’s best to find a shady spot and watch the people go by. Ernest Hemingway claimed to have survived the dreary winters by catching pigeons here.


A nice Asian girl thought we were Chinois (the first of many times), we took each others’ photographs.